On January 28, China Life Property & Casualty Insurance Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "China Life P&C") disclosed several key senior management adjustments in its 2025 Q4 solvency report: Yu Fei and Tang Yong, who previously served as principal leaders of provincial branches, are proposed for promotion to Assistant President; concurrently, company Vice President Cao Yuan is proposed to succeed Fu Tianming, who had previously stepped down as Vice President, to assume the role of Chief Financial Officer.

The appointment of the younger generation coincides with the departure of veteran executives. Cao Yuan, appointed Vice President in July 2023, is now proposed to take over as Chief Financial Officer. Born in 1980, Cao graduated from Hangzhou Institute of Electronic Engineering with a bachelor's degree in economics in auditing, and later obtained an MBA from Zhejiang University. His career has been closely linked to the insurance industry, boasting 21 years of experience in financial insurance. Prior to this, he served successively as General Manager of China Life P&C's Hangzhou Central Sub-branch, Deputy General Manager of the Zhejiang Provincial Branch, and General Manager of the Shanghai Branch concurrently serving as General Manager of the Marine Cargo Insurance Operation Center, possessing multi-level and multi-regional business and management experience. Corresponding to Cao Yuan's "advancement" is Fu Tianming's "departure." In the third quarter of 2025, Fu Tianming, having reached the age of 60, stepped down from his position as Vice President. This handover of financial responsibilities can be seen as a subsequent step in this retirement arrangement. Currently, Fu Tianming remains within the senior management sequence, reflecting the transitional and institutional arrangements common in personnel changes at large institutions.

The simultaneous promotions of Yu Fei and Tang Yong, both former provincial branch heads—one a business expert and the other an internal control specialist—highlight different career paths, mirroring the multiple considerations large insurers weigh when selecting core executives. Yu Fei's promotion path exemplifies the typical principle of "battlefield tempering." Starting as Assistant General Manager of the Henan Branch in 2010, after nearly eight years of experience, he was approved by the Guizhou Regulatory Bureau as General Manager of a provincial branch in 2018, completing the crucial leap from supporter to decision-maker, later taking the helm of the critically important Guangdong Branch of China Life P&C. This practical route spanning central, southwestern, and southern China forged a hard strength focused on confronting market competition and driving premium income and profits. The appointment of Tang Yong, however, demonstrates characteristics of "internal-to-external, composite empowerment." Born in 1972, he long specialized in human resources and supervisory systems, having served as Deputy General Manager of China Life's Human Resources Department and Deputy General Manager (acting in charge) of the Supervision Department. He also crossed over to work at China Guangfa Bank and served as a supervisor at China Life. It was not until 2024 that he was approved to lead the Shanxi Branch. His promotion might be interpreted as a balancing signal from China Life P&C, indicating an intent to solidify internal controls while pursuing growth.

Currently, China Life P&C's senior management team is led by President Huang Xiumei. An obvious structural characteristic is that five core members, including Huang Xiumei, Bai Ping, Fu Tianming, Jiang Tao, and Tong Yu, belong to the "post-60s" generation. With Fu Tianming's role adjustment serving as a prelude, it is inevitable that the company's management will enter a relatively intensive cycle of generational transition over the coming years. Therefore, the current personnel layout can be seen as a forward-looking preparation for this cycle. It attempts to build a new balance between experience and vitality, expansion and risk control, and frontline business and central management. The placement of individuals like Yu Fei and Tang Yong into key positions aims to cultivate diversified leadership to help the company tackle multiple challenges including growth乏力, intensified competition, and tightening regulation.

The development trajectory of China Life P&C in recent years clearly reflects the collective transformation of China's property and casualty insurance industry amidst cyclical changes. On one hand, there is a continuous slowdown in scale growth; on the other, a significant recovery in profitability. Behind this seemingly divergent trend lies a fundamental shift in the development logic for the company and even the industry, moving from "winning by volume" to "prioritizing quality." Reviewing its development history, from initially breaking through 10 billion yuan in 2010, crossing 50 billion yuan in 2015, to reaching the 100 billion yuan platform in 2023, this steep upward curve perfectly aligned with the "golden decade" of rapid industry expansion. However, the engine of high-speed growth cannot run indefinitely. Zooming in on the period from 2023 to 2025, its year-on-year premium growth rate has declined stepwise from 8.2% to 4.5%, and further to 1.5%, with the previous era of frequent double-digit growth now a thing of the past.

This shift towards lower growth rates results from the resonance of internal and external factors. Externally, the deepening comprehensive reform of auto insurance and intensified market competition have made extensive expansion solely driven by expense ratios unsustainable. The entire industry is transitioning from incremental competition characterized by "land grabbing" to stock game competition focused on deep customer engagement and risk selection. Internally, the company's management has clearly realized that in the new phase of industry development, scale is no longer the sole driving metric and can even become a trap that erodes profits. In stark contrast to the scale growth rate is the significant improvement in the company's profit statement. From 2022 to 2025, its net profit surged from 669 million yuan to 3.976 billion yuan, showing an accelerating growth trend. A more critical indicator is that the Return on Equity (ROE) reached 10.33% in 2025, marking a significant enhancement in the company's ability to create value for shareholders.

The recovery in profitability stems from the simultaneous drive of both underwriting and investment "dual wheels." On the underwriting side, the most crucial breakthrough is the continuous compression of the combined ratio from above the loss line at 101.29% in 2022 to 99.56% in 2025, meaning the insurance business itself has once again become a source of profit. The significant reduction in the composite expense ratio from 30.37% to 25.41% was the main contributing factor, highlighting the company's stringent control over reducing channel costs and improving operational efficiency. On the investment side, the comprehensive investment yield also gradually recovered from a low of 1.00% in 2022 to 4.97% in 2025. Particularly in 2025, investment income resulting from the capital market recovery provided crucial support for profit growth.

Overall, China Life P&C is outlining a development path different from its past. It appears to be intentionally moving away from a singular focus on premium scale, instead attempting to establish a more sustainable profit path balancing underwriting control and investment capability. This "quality-first" road is undoubtedly more challenging, but it may also be the only path toward a more sustainable future.